Recoil Eliminators

Whether you're an practical rifle competitor, a varmint hunter, a member of a special military or police tactical team or just a plinker, sight recovery is the name of the game. Lower the recoil and you reduce muzzle flip, which leads to faster sight recovery and faster follow-up shots. Every compensator operates on this principle, but none can match the classic JP Recoil Eliminator. This design has been with us almost as long as JP has been in business. "Radical performance" was the goal then--it was the 90s, remember--and that still holds today with the Recoil Eliminator still providing the fastest possible sight recovery and the highest level of recoil reduction of any device on the market, including our own line of compensators.

Functional above all else, the brake's broad baffle surfaces redirect the vast majority of muzzle gases out to the sides with each shot. This actually drives the rifle forward during fire, counteracting the rearward recoil impulse for both minimized overall movement and muzzle flip coupled with reduced fatigue from constant fire, particularly with large-bore rifles. The JPRE also shapes these gases so as to spare the shooter from any concussion as well as the annoyance of thrown dust when shooting off a bipod.

A better shooting experience in every way; that's what the Recoil Eliminator delivers. Over two decades of reviews and match wins tell the tale.

Recoil Eliminators

Back in 2002, John Paul partnered up with shooter Chad Peterson for the 2002 D&L International Tactical Rifle Championship. Peterson was a last-minute addition, leaving him only a few weeks to prepare for the two-man team event. Using a custom Remington Sendero in .300 Win Mag., he would be shooting targets from 300 to 1000 yards. With the JP Recoil Eliminator, Peterson was able to fire nearly a thousand rounds of ammunition in load development, zero acquisition and everyday practice without any physical abuse. Even after firing over 300 rounds in the three days before the event, he was able to shoot the match--another 150 rounds--with no recoil fatigue and turn in a top showing at the match. Without the JP Recoil Eliminator, that prep and performance would simply not have been possible.

The goal of this brake's design was to eliminate as much as best as possible the actual recoil impulse, which is the main cause of muzzle flip. In other words, the Recoil Eliminator solves the problem not just the symptom. This results in a very neutral feel to the firing rifle unlike some brakes that depend primarily on the thrust effect. We've seen a number of rifle comps that actually produce a "negative muzzle flip," which is much more difficult to deal with than a rifle with no compensation. Your natural feedback loop can compensate for a positive flip with considerable speed but not a negative flip.

Normally, when the bullet leaves the muzzle, high pressure gasses acting against the muzzle at that instant become a significant component of perceived recoil. Therefore, reducing recoil and the associated muzzle flip becomes a simple accounting problem. If you can just vent these gasses before the bullet leaves the bore, you create a noticeable difference. If you harness these gasses by directing them against an opposing baffle surface, a forward thrust is generated, which counteracts the recoil impulse of the weapon. The remaining recoil impulse is nearly linear so sight recovery is almost instantaneous. In fact, it is even possible to spot your own hits, and one of our customers said that he was able to take a follow-up shot at a prairie dog at about 350 yards with his AR-15 before the first bullet impacted.

In raw numbers, you'll find that the energy of the gasses from a 20-inch .223 rifle contribute about 70% of the muzzle energy of the projectile. If you do nothing with that force, it is added to the overall recoil impulse. If you can utilize that energy at a decent level of efficiency to subtract from the recoil impulse, you can see the potential. If you watch the now famous video segment of an 11-inch M16 fitted with a Recoil Eliminator, it appears to be recoilless because the muzzle energy of the projectile from the short barrel is nearly equal to the kinetic energy of the high-pressure gas that is being harnessed by the brake.

On larger bore rifles, the effect is equally impressive. You can shoot a .270, 30-06, .300 mag. or larger rifles all day with no recoil fatigue. One of our demo rifles is a .270 bolt gun, n fact. If you hold that rifle up with the butt plate about one inch from your face and pull the trigger, it will barely tap the tip of your nose. Everyone knows how punishing it is to fire a high-powered lightweight hunting rifle off a bench rest. You have to crunch your face into the stock and tense your whole upper body to avoid having the scope permanently imbedded in your skull. By allowing you to completely relax instead of anticipating that punishing recoil, accuracy improves considerably. We have customers who use .300 mags. for varmint rifles and fire hundreds of rounds in a sitting.

Ask anyone who has used one of our recoil eliminators—they'll tell you the effect is nothing short of amazing. If you are an IPSC action rifle competitor, that translates into blazing speed of target engagement with outstanding accuracy. On close-range field courses with an AR-type rifle, your splits on double tapping paper targets are only limited by the agility of your trigger finger. The rifle will not leave your point of aim. There's a reason this is the part that launched the JP brand.

FAQ

How do I know which compensator I need?

Refer to our selection guide. First, you will need to know the threading of your barrel, which is usually 1⁄2-28 for an AR-15 (.223/5.56) and 5⁄8-24 for an AR-10 (.308/7.62), though there are exceptions. Second, you'll need to measure the outside diameter of your barrel. We have muzzle devices to accommodate several ODs, but if we don't offer one to match yours barrel exactly, it's best cosmetically to choose a comp. that is slightly larger than the barrel and then break the transition with a jam nut or crush washer. Some of our comps. include a crush washer, which will be indicated in their descriptions. Finally, you'll need to mind the exit hole required for the cartridge you're shooting. On most cases, the exit hole can be opened to accept large cartridges.

Do you offer installations of your comps?

How will your comp work with my rifle?

Comps are designed to work by redirecting gas, and ours are most effective when used with an overbore Magnum with a large case for the diameter of the bullet such as .300 Win Mag, .300 Weatherby, .30-378 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5 x 284 Norma, etc. While still effective, the performance difference is less dramatic with large, heavy bullets and straight-walled cases.

How much recoil reduction can I expect?

This is a question with no simple answer, as there is no ideal basis for comparison. Many factors contribute to the recoil impulse, and everyone perceives that impulse differently. The type of firearm and action, weight and length of the barrel, caliber, weight of projectile and powder charge are all of factors that need to be considered.

Understanding the basic principles of how compensators work is a good place to start. As the bullet exits the bore, there is a mass of expanding, high velocity gas exiting behind it. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and the intense pressure and force of the escaping gas creates a rearward thrust that is transferred through the firearm and into the shooter as recoil. The weight and momentum of the projectile traveling down and exiting the bore is also responsible for that rearward thrust. Think of recoil in two parts: one is the recoil caused by the projectile (bullet recoil) while the other is the recoil caused by the exiting gas (gas recoil). There is nothing we can do to counter the effects of bullet recoil except to shoot a lighter bullet. Gas recoil, however, can be tamed, and this is where the compensator comes in. Compensators/muzzle brakes harness the energy of gas recoil and use it to the shooter's advantage by redirecting it.

Our JP muzzle treatments each have large baffle surfaces that allow the bullet, but not the gas, to pass through unmolested. As the gas impacts these baffles, it does so with such great force that it actually creates a forward thrust, counteracting the bullet recoil and stabilizing the whole platform. The bulk of the escaping gas is broken up and redirected out the sides and/or top of the compensator instead of adding to the recoil by exiting straight out the front. A hot cartridge compared to its relatively light-weight projectile, the .243 Winchester, for example, has so much gas recoil that it becomes virtually recoilless with a good, efficient compensator like the JP Recoil Eliminator. The average reduction of recoil experienced with our muzzle treatments is about 70%, but you may see more or less given your particular circumstances. When you consider the punishing recoil of a magnum rifle cartridge, it's easy to see how a he addition of a compensator will allow you to fire hundreds of rounds in a session without the recoil fatigue normally associated with such cartridges.

How loud are your compensators?

Compensators by their very nature redirect gasses towards bystanders and in some cases back towards the shooter, which leaves an impression of increased noise. Regardless of whether or not each shot is actually louder, many of us know that shooting next to someone with a large muzzle brake can seem unusually percussive. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable, and as with many things, calls for a compromise. Compensators advertised as "quiet" will also be the least effective in reducing recoil. The best solution is still the use of quality hearing protection. JP Enterprises strongly encourages the use of eye and ear protection every time you shoot.

JP Compensator/Recoil Eliminator Selection Guide

This selection guide is designed to aid you in your decision of which JP Compensator or Recoil Eliminator is most appropriate for your application. All of our recoil eliminators and compensators are threaded, which means that if your muzzle is not factory threaded, you will need to have this work performed by a competent gunsmith in order to complete the installation. We have four different styles of device to choose from. Some are designed with a specific application or firearm in mind, but all can be adapted to a wide range of firearms and calibers.

Once you decide on a model, the following information is required to find the best fit for your firearm:

Diameter of your barrel at the muzzle - This measurement needs to be taken with care using a precision instrument such as a caliper or micrometer capable of a standard (thousandths of an inch) or metric (millimeters) readout; a tape measure or ruler is inadequate. If you cannot find one of our comps with the exact diameter to match your barrel, it is best to choose a larger model that is closest in size. A comp with a larger diameter than the barrel is cosmetically finer and allows for the option of tapering the comp to blend with the barrel.

Finish of your barrel — Most, but not all of our models are available in either a black finish (black oxide or mag. phosphate) or stainless steel.

Caliber of your firearm — Caliber matters because the final exit hole of the compensator needs to be large enough to accommodate the projectile passing through it. There are also certain thread patterns that are more appropriate for certain calibers. For example, most .223 AR rifles employ a 1/2" diameter thread, while the .308 AR rifles use a 5/8" diameter thread. This is to prevent inadvertently installing a .22 caliber comp on a .30 caliber rifle only to find out the hard way that the final exit hole is too small.

Muzzle threading — If your muzzle is already threaded, you need to determine the particular thread pattern. A large number of military-style rifles and European bolt actions have factory-threaded muzzles. In some cases, we may have a compensator that will thread on with no modification necessary. Other times, a factory thread may need to be altered or an adaptor used to accommodate one of our models.